The Nature of Fragile Things
April 18, 1906: A massive earthquake rocks San Francisco just before daybreak, igniting a devouring inferno. Lives are lost, lives are shattered, but some rise from the ashes forever changed.
Sophie Whalen is a young Irish immigrant so desperate to get out of a New York tenement that she answers a mail-order bride ad and agrees to marry a man she knows nothing about. San Francisco widower Martin Hocking proves to be as aloof as he is mesmerizingly handsome. Sophie quickly develops deep affection for Kat, Martin's silent five-year-old daughter, but Martin's odd behavior leaves her with the uneasy feeling that something about her newfound situation isn't right.
Then one early-spring evening, a stranger at the door sets in motion a transforming chain of events. Sophie discovers hidden ties to two other women. The first, pretty and pregnant, is standing on her doorstep. The second is hundreds of miles away in the American Southwest, grieving the loss of everything she once loved.
The fates of these three women intertwine on the eve of the devastating earthquake, thrusting them onto a perilous journey that will test their resiliency and resolve and, ultimately, their belief that love can overcome fear.
From the acclaimed author of The Last Year of the War and As Bright as Heaven comes a gripping novel about the bonds of friendship and mother love, and the power of female solidarity.
Sophie Whalen is a young Irish immigrant so desperate to get out of a New York tenement that she answers a mail-order bride ad and agrees to marry a man she knows nothing about. San Francisco widower Martin Hocking proves to be as aloof as he is mesmerizingly handsome. Sophie quickly develops deep affection for Kat, Martin's silent five-year-old daughter, but Martin's odd behavior leaves her with the uneasy feeling that something about her newfound situation isn't right.
Then one early-spring evening, a stranger at the door sets in motion a transforming chain of events. Sophie discovers hidden ties to two other women. The first, pretty and pregnant, is standing on her doorstep. The second is hundreds of miles away in the American Southwest, grieving the loss of everything she once loved.
The fates of these three women intertwine on the eve of the devastating earthquake, thrusting them onto a perilous journey that will test their resiliency and resolve and, ultimately, their belief that love can overcome fear.
From the acclaimed author of The Last Year of the War and As Bright as Heaven comes a gripping novel about the bonds of friendship and mother love, and the power of female solidarity.
BUY THE BOOK
Join a book club that is reading The Nature of Fragile Things!
Community Reviews
What Bookclubbers are saying about this book
✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI
Readers say *The Nature of Fragile Things* by Susan Meissner is a well-crafted, suspenseful historical novel set around the 1906 San Francisco earthqu...
This was mysterious, suspenseful and hard to put down! Sophie Whalen is a young Irish immigrant living in NYC when she answers an ad to be a mail order bride in San Francisco. Sophie knows very little about Martin Hocking, except that he is a recent widower and has a five year old daughter. Sophie quickly develops affection for Kat but begins to wonder about the mysterious ways of her new husband.
When a pregnant stranger, Belinda, arrives on her doorstep the night before the massive earthquake of 1906, a chain of events is about to unravel. A third woman, Candance, in Arizona is also tied to Sophie. The fates of these three women is intertwined; secrets are revealed, strength is tested and love will prevail. I loved all of these strong female characters. This story was so well written, transporting me to the earthquake of 1906, and surprising me with an ending I didn't expect.
When a pregnant stranger, Belinda, arrives on her doorstep the night before the massive earthquake of 1906, a chain of events is about to unravel. A third woman, Candance, in Arizona is also tied to Sophie. The fates of these three women is intertwined; secrets are revealed, strength is tested and love will prevail. I loved all of these strong female characters. This story was so well written, transporting me to the earthquake of 1906, and surprising me with an ending I didn't expect.
Interesting perspective of the earthquake in 1906 in San Francisco told through the eyes of a young mail order bride. She ends up getting much more than she bargained for when another woman shows up at her door claiming to be married to the same man. Just who is Martin and what is his grand scheme?
This book kept me from my chores. I had a hard time putting it down. Wasn't expecting the end. This is definitely a page turner.
This was a very good book. I love the idea of the story happening during the big San Francisco earthquake. I loved the Irish accent narration.
See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.